by Jenn Nixon
Dina stared up wanting nothing more than to ask him to stay. Deep down she knew she was going to have a dream. She didn’t remember a night where one didn’t come back to taunt her. The last thing she wanted to do was infect Liam and the others further. Trying to figure things out alone, away from the team, obviously didn’t work. She wouldn’t leave again. Dina had to tough it out and stick with her family. No matter what happened next.
***
Sanjeeta peeked out her office at 7:59. There weren’t any cars in the parking lot yet so she ducked backed in and sat down, bringing up the payroll for the week and entering the hours. At 8:01 someone tapped on her door. Her eyes bugged as she spun and came face to face with the hot blond blue-eyed guy who stopped her dead in her tracks with one word, shifted from place to place like a superhero, and once again seemed to appear out of nowhere.
“Good morning, Sanjeeta,” he said, dipping his head.
“Uh, hi, you…would you like some coffee or tea?” She stood up, offering her hand. He shook politely and declined something to drink. Sanjeeta stuck her head out into the hall to find it empty, then shut the door behind him and motioned to only other chair against the wall. “Thank you for coming, Harvey.”
His mouth ticked higher. “Welcome. You have something?”
“I think so. Maybe? I’m not sure. I…didn’t want to take a chance, but I also don’t want to breach anyone’s privacy,” she said, returning to her seat and running a hand through her hair to make sure it wasn’t too spiky. Leaning closer, she lowered her voice. “And I know you gave that money to keep an eye out and I said I would, it’s not much to go on, but it’s also personal: one of my employees, Marjorie Allen, is missing.”
“Is she psychic?”
“Possibly, I have a very grainy video that could be a prank…but three psychics from this local deepnet group I’m in may also be missing. People bounce in and out all the time so no one can confirm it, but two of them were supposed to meet yesterday, one never showed.”
Harvey ran a hand through his hair, flicks of silver catching the light as a frown fell to his face. “Would you be willing to show me what you found?”
She focused on him, not pushing too hard, just enough to see if she could make the connection to his mind. When she hit a brick wall, she smirked. “Are you really just some Good Samaritan?”
“No. I’m afraid I haven’t been completely honest,” he replied. “Not that you are surprised. What I can tell you is that I work with a group capable of finding out if your friends are missing.”
“What kind of group?”
“That’s a little more complicated to explain,” he said, pressing his lips together. “If you’ll allow me, I’ll head back and relay what you’ve told me.”
“And do what?”
“Investigate what happened.”
“How? I didn’t tell you much—”
“More than enough to get started,” he replied with a shrug.
“Crap, you are hardcore. Who are you?”
Harvey’s mouth ticked again. “A friend, that much I promise you, Sandee. Or do you prefer Sanjeeta?”
“Either.”
“Lie.”
“Okay, fine, Sanjeeta, happy?”
“Yes.” He rose from his seat and smiled. “I’ll return soon.”
Sanjeeta watched him exit and turn down the hall toward the back door. She shook her head, not even trying to figure out how he got through the security lock, turned back to her desk to finish the payroll, and wait for him to return…if he ever did.
Chapter Six
The radiation site in the Pine Barrens felt the same as it had when he visited soon after the incident. Ninety-nine percent of it he understood. The one percent Caelum didn’t, continued to baffle him. The fact that he didn’t understand, meant he’d never seen it occur in nature until now. He’d never say the words impossible; however, this event was as close to impossible as possible.
His way of thinking, the way his mind and abilities worked, afforded him insight very few had, still he had no answers to give the MIND team. Looking into Dina’s mind again may only confused him further. She had captured so many images during the fracture that he barely glimpsed a fraction during his mental repair of her psyche. The dream she and the others suffered was easier to piece together and view. Each part he saw worried him. It showed the MIND base in a state of destruction.
Caelum didn’t have any sense the team was in danger. Admittedly, he’d kept his distance, spent less time on Earth the past four months, letting them forge their own way. Had he missed something in his absence? His view of the future didn’t come from visions as the others thought of them. He saw the potential results of past actions and current choices and future possibilities and narrowed down the logical path someone would take.
He waved his hand over the radiation spot, willing some new piece of information to take form in his mind.
Nothing came.
His frustrations tainted his focus. There was nothing here to help him. Caelum had two options. He hoped the first would negate the use of the second.
With a thought, he returned to the base, appearing in the middle of their computer section, and hearing Theo huffing from the hub.
“Damn it, Caelum,” he spat, flinching. “Need to stop fucking doing that. For real.”
“Yes, I do know. I’m always lost in thought,” he said solemnly.
“Yeah, tell me about it.”
Surprised at the invitation, he raised a brow. “You don’t want to know what is going on in my mind, Theo—”
“Did you tell her?”
“Who?”
“Dina, my name. Did you tell her? I know you know it, you’ve been in my head enough to find it.”
“No, Theo, I have never spoken it because I know how much it hurts to hear,” he replied, frowning and sensing a growing frustration rolling through the Cartuilan. “Dina knows your given name?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand.” Caelum shook his head. “You think like humans…er more so than I, please don’t take offense—”
“Spit it out, Caelum.”
“I am too close or not close enough to fit the pieces together. I’m missing something crucial. I need you to tell me everything, Theo.”
“I’ll tell you what I know if you keep it between us. I mean it, Enhancer.” Theo rubbed his hand over his face, one of his telltale signs of worry and anxiety. Whatever weighed on his mind went deep and pulsated through his entire being. When Caelum nodded, Theo retold everything he remembered starting with the reckoning dream sharing. He then recounted the new dream, the theory it came from Lexa and Dina’s assertion it was hers, Liam’s accusations about Dina and Theo, Jazara’s inclusion in the dream, and recounted events in the Pine Barrens. “We brought them back here. Dina woke up first, while I was here, and she tried sneaking out. When…I touched her, I saw these images in my head. She looked different and we…”
“I can simply look,” Caelum offered. Theo nodded and his cheeks darkened with embarrassment. Caelum focused on the thought and saw Theo and Dina in various situations, most shockingly kissing and more. “She…seems older.”
“Yes. You heard her, didn’t you, asked how I was so young, then in Rivia’s ship, she said it again, asked me how old I was and she knew my name. She…” Theo paused, breathing in raggedly. “She asked me why I didn’t remember telling her and when she touched me, I saw…felt parts of the dream again. Every time I see her she looks—”
“Older,” he repeated.
“Not much, but yes, her hair. It’s long in the dream. Medium in some of the others. I’ve never seen her hair longer than it is right now.”
Caelum frowned. “This can’t be a vision of the future, Theo, but everything points to that conclusion. There is still a missing piece. If I had been there during the event, perhaps I could have seen or sensed something to help.”
“Casey’s scanner picked up a reading right before, practica
lly all the radiation doubled, including the one we can’t identify,” Theo said, tapping on the console and sending a bunch of charts and graphs to the screens hanging in the middle of the base.
Caelum lifted a brow. “That’s the radiation Enhancer’s give off.”
“Ah, makes sense, Lexa was there.”
“No, this is coming from…This Shrian radiation has temporal undercurrents.”
“Dina has a time stop.”
Caelum shook his head and felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise. A sensation he hadn’t felt in a millennium. “I think I’m starting to understand. I may need Dina to provide the final piece.”
“She’s sleeping now, you’ll have to come back.”
“May I stay?” he asked and sighed when Theo lifted a brow. “Yes, I know, I’ve been absent as of late. I told you in the bar—”
“Oh, trust me, I get it. I’m starting to think Jaabrek’s theory has more to do with the different classes spending time together than generally superior abilities on Earth,” Theo said, slanting his mouth when Caelum furrowed his brow. “Think about it, Casey’s father and Zalu are different classes. The Vepsatians, Zalu, Zila, and Jazara spent time in Peru with Shrians. Hinta and Val spent fourteen years under Tolk’s control, but eventually grew strong enough to gain the upper hand, and then us, Nella and Rivia were older, but Prantu seemed to be growing as well and only since leaving the military and joining this team did my…erogkientics develop and I’m mid-aged.”
“I fear you may be right.”
“Right about what?” Liam asked as he and Valtor entered the base.
“Your team…the classes’ convergence and closeness is responsible for the strengthened abilities,” Caelum replied, closing his mind off from the group while peering into theirs for a quick glimpse, relieved to see they were all focused and somewhat calm all things considered. “To be honest, I’ve never given it much thought as it’s still very rare for classes to blend the way you have here on Earth. Even colonies are naturally segregated.”
“Perhaps, I’ll have Aime look into it, review our medical scans over the last nine months,” Liam said, heading straight to the hub.
Theo, rising from the chair, met Caelum’s with a stern look as if to remind him not to mention their conversation. He simply nodded as the former general relinquished control of the MIND hub.
“What did you find in New Jersey?” Valtor asked, taking away the chance to dwell on everything new he’d learned from Theo. Caelum saw Liam and Theo pass each other, barely making eye contact. Liam nodded to Valtor before he sat in the high back leather chair.
“Not everything I need to explain the situation,” Caelum said, watching three mouths open to speak. He lifted a hand, but didn’t forcibly stop them. “Please, trust me; all the theories in my head will only heighten your current stress levels. Let her rest, for now.”
“That doesn’t fill any of us with confidence, Caelum,” Liam added with a grunt. “However, I’ll reach out when she’s up.”
“I prefer to stay, do you object?”
The Shrian smirked and shook his head. “No, of course not. I am still on edge, I’m not frustrated with you.”
“Well, you are to some degree, with reason,” Caelum replied, frowning. He needed to speak plainly. “I don’t wish to scare anyone with my thoughts, but whatever happened isn’t something I’ve ever come across in all my many years.”
“Fuck,” Theo groaned softly while Valtor covered his face with a hand, guilt filling both men.
“So, it is more than a vision of the future?” Liam asked in his typical logical manner. “Dina’s right, what she’s seen is real…”
Caelum lifted a brow and glanced down when the Shrian trailed off. His eyes glowed slightly and his neural activity doubled. Aware Liam was seeing something, Caelum hijacked the images and brought them forward. Perhaps he didn’t need Dina’s mind to solve this puzzle. Whatever Liam had seen while in the sphere lived in his memories, too.
As Caelum reached in, Liam sensed him. Let me see. Let me help.
Liam nodded and opened his mind, dropping every safeguard. Caelum touched upon his thoughts lightly, grateful the Shrian was mentally strong and directed him to the images of the sphere. The moment Caelum latched onto the memory, searing pain tacked his temple. Liam’s head tilted back and he seized in the chair.
“Caelum, what are you—” Theo spun around.
He lifted a hand and delved further into Liam’s head. Stopping now would bring more pain to them both. When Liam screamed, Valtor and Theo teleported to the hub. “He gave me permission.”
“You are a dick,” Theo snapped.
Sighing, Caelum flipped his eyes to his natural silver and peered deep into the Shrian’s mind. He latched onto the memory—realizing it wasn’t actually Liam’s, and pulled all the straggling pieces together in a heated rush. He replayed it through Liam’s mind and began to shake and fill with horror, unsure he believed what he was seeing.
***
I’m sorry. Lexa! This is our last chance, please! Dina felt the same pull of their combined powers take hold. The silvery-blue force field began to swirl. She focused all her energy, memories, thoughts, and feelings to one point, one moment. As the swirl spun faster, a stranger type of pull formed between her and Lexa. Theo reached out for her.
Theo, don’t!
His hand punctured the barrier. Theo’s eyes rolled back as he started to seize. Fire encased the space surrounding them. Jazara came near, grabbed Theo and held the fire at bay with glowing hands. “Hurry!”
The inside of the shield sparked with light and zipped back and forth, as the blue swirl spun faster.
This was it.
Dina was ready.
A bright white ball of light formed in the middle of the bubble. Dina saw a figure materialize within the light. She sent all her energy to Lexa, keeping just enough for the shield and the light. After she lifted her hand from Lexa’s shoulder, switching to remote sharing, the figure began to solidify.
Something felt wrong.
Lexa gasped. Dina…what the fuck? Oh my god that’s—
“Liam?” Dina whispered, slapping both hands to her mouth. Her heart stopped beating. His wavy snow-like hair came into view first, then his awesome gray eyes. He seemed stuck in place. She took a step closer, lifted her hand to his cheek. “Is it really you?”
The instant she touched him, he unlocked. “Gone!”
She retracted as her eyes filled with tears. “Liam.”
“Dina?” His brow crinkled. He rubbed his temple and narrowed his gaze before glancing back over his shoulder seeing only the shield surrounding them. “No…this is… Who are you? Where am I?”
“It’s me, and where…that’s a little more complicated. Search my mind, Liam.”
His eyes glowed. Dina’s stomach constricted. She ignored Lexa’s warning trying to brush her mind again. Liam’s hand twitched. He winced and grabbed his head again.
“I’m sorry…It wasn’t supposed to be you. I was thinking about you today, altered my focus, I should have known. We don’t have much time.”
“I don’t understand,” he said. Dina inched closer slowly. He didn’t back away, simply stared at her with fear and confusion. She scooped her hair back, quickly tied it at the nape of her neck, and then pulled a silver chain from under her shirt. Dangling on the end was a star and a heart tangled together. Liam’s eyes widened. “I haven’t—”
“Given the necklace to me yet?” she asked.
He nodded.
“It’s in the bottom drawer of your nightstand. You bought it the Friday before we met Jazara. When it all began.”
Liam sprang back from Caelum’s mental touch. His eyes went wide. The look on the Enhancer’s face did nothing to quash the increasing alarm. Everything he’d seen belonged to Dina. His memories of the same event seemed overwritten by hers. All he recalled was the sense of dread and bewilderment.
“Is what she said true? Do you have the
necklace upstairs?” Caelum asked, frowning deeper when he nodded in response. Caelum pulled a gray box out of his pocket and opened the lid. A necklace just like the one Liam had purchased for Dina sat inside, dulled and dented, with a broken clasp. “This is the one you just saw.”
He furrowed his brow. “How?”
“Touch the necklace.”
“Caelum,” Valtor called from his computer. “Is that wise?”
“Not at all,” he said, gazing over. “Do you want to see the rest, Liam?”
“Dina said the dream would tear everything apart…”
“This isn’t a dream.”
“What is it, Caelum?”
He lifted the box.
“Liam,” Theo said, approaching the hub. “You may not like what you see.”
“If it will help Dina, I must,” he replied, reaching in and grabbing the necklace. His eyesight dimmed as images and sounds spilled into his mind.
“Given the necklace to me yet?” Dina asked.
Liam nodded.
“It’s in the bottom drawer of your nightstand. You bought it the Friday before we met Jazara. When it all began.”
“When what began?”
“The beginning of the end, Liam. Gardner isn’t dead. You have to stop him. Stop Project Phoenix.”
He stepped closer, brow furrowing as he shook his head. “Where did you get it?”
“From you…the day we got married.”
When he reached out and touched the necklace, the shield surrounding them sputtered and cracked. Lexa broke into her head. I’m losing it!
“Stop wasting time on messages and prophecies…follow the experiments. Follow everyone connected to the unit and stop Project Phoenix, Liam. If you don’t, there won’t be anyone left.” The heartbreak on his face as he stared at the charm in his hand was all she needed to finish what she started. Dina grabbed his wrist, pushed her thoughts into his mind, feeling the last of her energy slipping away. Spaceboy. You have to listen to me. We’re running out of time.
